"receptive before the world..."

My favorite author at the moment is Henri Nouwen. And after coming off of a week of 24/7 prayer at ASU, meeting a bunch of new friends who have the same passion, and just searching for the reality of prayer myself, these ideas really struck a chord. So many times we pray -- trying to change things around us -- when maybe, the real purpose of prayer, is to change us....

"Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched."
-- Henri J. M. Nouwen

"People who pray stand receptive before the world.
They no longer grab but caress
they no longer bite but kiss
they no longer examine but admire."
-- Henri J. M. Nouwen